Page 44 of Poison Touch (Monarch Vipers #1)

I don’t look forward to going in there with him, but I still agree, hoping he’ll forget. “Yeah, sure.”

Carved pumpkins line the steps up to the front doors.

Walking through the entrance is like walking into another place entirely, a haunted house, to be precise.

Hundreds of black lights flicker, flashing against large, gruesome figures and monsters.

Spider webbing streams across the stair banisters to high chandeliers.

Either the Winwards are professional holiday decorators or they hired one. The place looks amazing.

A smorgasbord of sweets is splayed over the landscape of the massive dining room table. Bowls, dishes, and silver serving trays are layered with chocolate and candy of every flavor imaginable.

Straight through the house, toward the back, more lights and decorations surround the pool area and yard.

A wooden dance floor is set up behind the pool’s waterfall.

To one side of the dance floor are round tables with black tablecloths and ghostly decorations, and to the left, tables overflow with finger food and drinks.

Several bars and carnival candy booths are also set up on their sprawling lawn.

“Why don’t you grab us a table and I’ll get us drinks?” Josh suggests.

I take Eden’s hand and pull her along with me. “Let’s sit over there.”

Only twenty minutes have passed, and as much as there is to see, I’m bored out of my mind.

If it wasn’t for Bryce and Eden, I would have ditched already.

More people have arrived, and several are dancing.

Finally, the music is loud enough that you have to yell to be heard over it. It’s beginning to feel like a party.

“Want to dance?” Josh asks.

“Sure.” I’m not the best dancer. I move my hips and sway, adding a little bounce or jumping occasionally, depending on the song’s beat. Not that it matters. Dancing isn’t what I came here to do.

He follows me out to the dance floor. As I begin to move, he steps in closer and goes to reach around my waist, but I dance away, creating much-needed space between us. I bump into the person behind me.

“I’m sorry—” I begin, then turn to see it’s Brielle and cut off my apology. Peyton and Mikayla are standing with her.

Brielle’s eyes narrow, then widen when she recognizes me. “Your costume is… interesting. Didn’t anyone tell you it’s a Halloween party, not a masquerade ball?”

Looking her up and down, taking in her devil horns, skimpy low-cut red leotard, wicked pointed tail, and pitchfork, I laugh. “Since you dressed as yourself, I could ask you the same thing.”

She takes a step forward, then sways as she retreats. “You’re not worth it.”

I could probably catch a buzz from the potent stench of alcohol on her breath. I don’t respond, nor is there a chance to, before Venom comes up behind her.

She sees my shift and turns around, laying her hand on Edge’s chest. “Hey, baby.” Glancing over her shoulder at me, she gives me a bright smile. “Trash here didn’t get the memo that it’s a Halloween party, not a masquerade.”

The four guys who make up Venom are all dressed in dark pants and black shirts, each wearing a different creepy clown mask. Even with the mask, it’s easy to tell them apart. I wish I had the same sense when they were in the cage and my dad was killed. Then all of this bullshit would be over.

Edge removes Brielle’s hand from his chest as his eyes stay fixed on me.

I look around for Josh, who found a friend to talk with.

So much for using him as a distraction. Without a word, I make my exit from the clown and devil group, weaving through the crowd of gyrating bodies, not bothering to tell Josh where I’m going.

Hell, I don’t even know. Even though I’m outside, I feel like I need some fresh air.

In the far side of the yard, under an oak tree, is a popcorn machine and a cotton candy machine.

“Hey, where are you going?” Josh calls after me.

I keep walking as I call out an answer to my so-called date. “Saw you were talking with your friend and thought I’d get a snack. Brielle’s presence makes me want to throw up and run in the opposite direction.” I mumble the last part to myself.

He picks up his pace and is next to me as I order popcorn and cotton candy. “How are you supposed to eat both at the same time?”

I stick out my tongue into the popcorn bag, a piece of popcorn sticking to its tip.

“Nice.” He looks at the server. “I’ll take the same.”

He thanks the guy. Together, we walk to one of the benches under the lit tree. He pulls off a piece of candy and tries to feed it to me.

“I have my own, thanks.”

Deflated, he lowers his hand. He’s trying way too hard. Or maybe I’m trying too hard to avoid him touching me in any way.

“Why don’t we go check out the maze after we finish these?” he suggests as he holds up his popcorn and cotton candy.

“Sure.”

I hate the fact that I decide to go only to see if he’ll try anything with me. And I know I don’t owe Kade anything, but if Josh did rape his sister, then I bet there have been others, and there will be more.

The anticipation has small doses of adrenaline starting to course through my veins. Maybe Brielle sparked the need for me to pick a fight and get physical. “Let’s go now.”

“Yeah?” He licks his lips as the smile on his face grows. He gets up, takes my treats, and tosses them in the nearby trash can. This time, when he reaches for my hand, I let him take it.

A familiar silhouette stands near the pool.

Our eyes lock with one another. Edge dangles the string of his mask from his fingers as he watches me go into the maze.

His glare is as dangerous and dark as the storm at the beach a couple of weeks ago, those dark clouds threatening to overtake my blue sky.

A small red bead of light ignites as he inhales from a joint.

Smoke seeps out between those perfect lips like a thick layer of fog rising into the night air.

For some unknown and incomprehensible reason, knowing that he’s watching me and who I’m with brings a sliver of comfort.

As we near the maze, distant laughs and screams come from somewhere within. It’s exciting and creepy.

“Ready?” he asks. The smile on his face is cunning instead of his usual innocent boyish one. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

I follow his lead as we head into the maze.

We twist and turn through the narrow path, hitting a dead end, then laugh as we maneuver back the way we came.

The farther into the maze we go, the darker it gets.

Something isn’t right about this. Uneasiness begins to spread through me.

The creepy sensation prickles at the base of my neck, slithering down my spine.

I have to stay on the balls of my feet to avoid my heels from sinking into the dirt.

Josh suddenly stops. I bump into his back. Abruptly, he whips around to face me. Our mouths are mere inches apart. “What are you doing?”

“Giving you what you want. You’ve been playing with me since you started school. Flirting with me, playing hard to get like the cockteaser you are.”

And here we are, folks, introducing the real Josh Carter.

All of the distant giggles and teasing have ceased. Only the music from the house can be heard.

He grabs hold of me, wrenching me flush against him.

I try to give him fair warning. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Yes, I fucking do. You think you’re all mysterious and quiet, but I know your type. You can’t wait for a guy like me to take control and fuck you senseless.”

I push him back, but he barely moves. I warn him again before I let loose. “Josh, you don’t want to do this. From what I’ve heard, you’ve already gotten into trouble for pulling this. Didn’t a girl die or something?”

“I didn’t fucking kill her. I was just the one who gave her what she asked for, then she decided it was a mistake or some bullshit.”

There it is, his disgusting and sardonic confession.

“I was hoping those rumors about you were lies. I trusted you,” I plead as I gag on my own words. “I don’t want you to hurt me.”

He holds me close as I pretend to put up a fight by twisting back and forth. Luca’s warning about not smearing my makeup pops into my head. Granted, it comes at a very inopportune time. But there it is nonetheless. My best friend is going to kill me. He wanted me to get laid, not get into a fight.

“Trust me, it won’t hurt a bit,” Josh purrs.

I go completely still. He relaxes a fraction, believing I’ve caved and he’s won the right to rape me.

Time’s up.

“Well, I can’t promise the same,” I growl as I grab his arm from behind my waist, pulling it hard as I spin away from him and slip around to his back.

When I yank his arm behind him, he howls in pain.

He ducks under, out of my grasp. I lose my footing and stumble back.

Fucking heels! I’m going to kill Luca later for making me wear them instead of my boots.

I lightly punch him in the chest. My way of letting him think he has the upper hand. We’re face to face when he comes at me again.

“Come on, baby. That’s right. Give me a little fight to keep it interesting.”

“You seriously need help.” I thrust my hand up into his nose. Not hard enough to kill him, but enough pressure to cause blood to gush out.

He touches his nose. Blood coats his fingers. “You bitch!”

“Yeah, I’ve been called that before by assholes like you.

” I kick out my leg and catch the back of his.

He goes down on his knees. Before he has a chance to get to his feet, I serve a kick to the side of his head.

The short front of the dress makes the maneuver easier than I imagined.

He falls onto his stomach. I manage to stay on my feet.

The spikes of my heels sink into the soft dirt, grounding me in place.

Maybe not kill Luca, just wound him a little .

Josh flounders a bit as he tries to get to his feet again.

I round on him, then shove at his back before he can stand.

Bending down, I grasp him around his neck in a chokehold that only those who have had training could get out of.

From the way his body is starting to go limp from lack of oxygen, it’s easy to guess that he’s not one of them.

I loosen my hold so he doesn’t lose consciousness. “Looks like you fucked with the wrong girl this time, huh?”

“You cunt!”

I tsk. “Is that all you got?” Without tightening my hold, I jerk his head back farther.

He grunts in pain. The blood from his nose smears the bottom half of his face and drips onto my arm.

Uselessly, he uses both hands to pry my arm away from his neck.

“Josh, listen very carefully. You will turn yourself in, or I will do it for you. I have the means and the connections to make your life a living hell. So, you will admit to raping Abigail Kade and anyone else you raped. Then, when your ass is in prison, you’ll get yours. Just like you deserve.”

“No fucking way. I didn’t do shit.”

I tighten my hold. In the near darkness, I watch as his face swells from the lack of oxygen.

“Let’s try this again. The desperate feeling you feel right now, the god-please-don’t-let-me-die feeling, the feeling of being helpless, paralyzed, desperate for a gasp of air, all of those feelings are nothing compared to the pain I can cause you.

With only my bare hands, I could hurt you beyond repair, worse than anything your sick imagination can conceive. ”

One of his hands, slick with his blood, loses its grip on my arm. “Fine,” he growls.

“Great! I’m glad we had this little chat.

” I apply just the right amount of pressure to his airway.

His body goes limp under me. I’m not convinced he’ll confess, but at least it’s a start.

I stand up, smoothing down my dress. Without thinking, I flip Josh’s limp body over and kick him as hard as I can in the balls. “Fucker.”

I go to wipe my face, then stop. Luca’s words ring in my head. I still need to go back to the party, and I don’t want to look like I was just in a fighting match with a rapist.

Clapping from behind me has me jerking around to see my audience. Edge and Kade stand at the bend in the maze. I make my way to them, remembering to walk on the balls of my feet to keep my heels from sinking into the dirt.

Kade pulls me into his arms, hugging me tight to his chest. “Just seeing him get the shit beat out of him puts a smile on my face. I owe you. It’s not all he deserves, but I’ll be able to help with that.” He holds up his phone to show he caught the whole thing on video.

I pull away. “The only thing you owe me is a race.”

For the first time, he delivers a genuine, complete smile. He gives Edge a fist bump before heading out of the maze.

“How did no one come and see any of that?”

“Kade and I had the area blocked. You guys were at a dead end, so it made it easy. Besides, most people are already drunk.”

Without a word, Edge takes me into his arms. I lean against his chest for a beat before he takes my hand and leads me farther into the maze, deeper into the darkness.